Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Brian Wilson Performs “God Only Knows” and “Love and Mercy” on Colbert: Watch
Brian Wilson popped up on Thursday night’s episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Beach Boys singer-songwriter performed two of his most timeless ballads — “God Only Knows” and “Love and Mercy” — remotely from his grand piano. “Hi, this is Brian Wilson everyone,” the old bard announced over his keys. “I just want you guys to know that we’re all in this together.” From there, he dove right into the crescent waves of his veteran falsetto — as angelic as ever. Watch the replay below. Don’t forget: On June 19th, Wilson and legendary songwriter and arranger Van Dyke Parks are reissuing their first collaborative album, 1995’s Orange Crate Art. So, if you’re looking for some rays, well, there you go. In related news, his embarrassment of a cousin Mike Love recently...
Killer Mike on How White People Can Help: ‘It Is Being a Part of Fixing It Always’
Last Friday, Killer Mike delivered a powerful, poignant speech directed at protestors in Atlanta. And on Monday night, he went on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert to expound on those points. In the segment, he discussed the speech from Friday, where he and T.I. spoke at Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ press conference after spending a day promoting their food truck in the city before the protests. “He spoke and then beckoned me to speak,” Mike said. “All I said was purely in my heart.” He went on to mention grassroots groups like New Georgia Project, Movement for Black Lives, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. The Run the Jewels rapper outlined what he called “Homework for all of White America.” “If there’s a riot going on in the streets, you gotta start to und...
Killer Mike Delivers a History Lesson and Assigns White America Homework on Colbert: Watch
After a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, America erupted. Police clashed with protestors, cities imposed curfews, largely peaceful demonstrations spilled over into vandalism, looting, and arson, and white nationalists impersonated legitimate activists to sow distrust and chaos. In the midst of generational turmoil, the rapper Killer Mike delivered a powerful speech that balanced historical awareness, community love, and a rage that threatened to become all-consuming. By speaking directly to his Atlanta neighbors, he gave voice to Americans everywhere. And now that his words have gone viral, the artist born Michael Render is using his heightened platform to push that message forward. On Monday, June 1st, Killer Mike called into the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert&nb...
John Malkovich Gives Epic Preschool Graduation Speech: Watch
Imagine you’re sitting on the floor at home in front of your laptop for class, John Malkovich logs onto your Zoom meeting, and suddenly the Academy Award-nominated actor is giving you and your classmates the most bizarre graduation speech ever. That could be your reality if you were one of the toddlers who enrolled at Play ‘n’ Learn, a made-up preschool that hired Malkovich for their official ceremony on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This whole thing went down because Colbert decided to give The New Pope star the prestigious opportunity of giving advice to recent graduates. Instead of giving him access to ivy leagues right away, Colbert tested him out with a brief message to preschoolers… and it went as oddly as expected. After introducing himself by saying, “You might know me f...
Wilco Debut New Song “Tell Your Friends” on Colbert: Watch
Wilco fans were treated to a brand new song during Wednesday night’s edition of the Late Show with Stephn Colbert. Each of the band’s members appeared virtually from their respective homes and were joined by their families for the premiere of “Tell Your Friends”. “We miss each other. So we wrote a song about it to sing with each other, to sing to each other,” Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy said in a statement. Proceeds from the song’s digital download, available now on Bandcamp, will benefit the World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization providing meals to underprivileged communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with “Tell Your Friends”, Tweedy also delivered a solo acoustic rendition of Wilco’s classic track “Jesus Etc”. Replay both performances below. Wilco rel...
Fantastic Negrito Announces New Album, Rips Through “Chocolate Samurai” on Colbert: Watch
Fantastic Negrito has announced his new album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? The follow-up to the Grammy-winning Please Don’t Be Dead arrives August 14th, and to promote it, the blues rocker ripped through a fiery performance of the lead single “Chocolate Samurai” on Colbert. Xavier Dphrepaulezz began his Late Show set alone, holding two kinds of tape — measuring and duct — and marking out six feet of distance for his band. For the concert, he wore a fuzzy bucket hat and what looked like a military uniform made out of the Bible’s coat of many colors. Fantastic Negrito has a powerful voice with an inimitable grind; he approaches the notes with the unstoppable force of a locomotive barreling down the tracks. Throughout “Chocolate Samurai” he strutted and danced, refus...
Ben Gibbard Performs “Life Under Quarantine” on Colbert: Watch
If you put aside the disparities that always exist between societal strata and the political nonsense surrounding the health crisis, there’s something equalizing about the pandemic. Late night TV has provided somewhat a reflection of this, as the increasing delirium of hosts like Stephen Colbert mirrors our own stir-craziness, and guests have been reduced to the same Zoom calls in which everyone else is partaking. Take, for example, Ben Gibbard’s performance of “Life Under Quarantine” on A Late Show Wednesday night. The Death Cab for Cutie frontman debuted the new song back in March during a livestream for Seattle news outlet The Stranger’s “A Message to the City” series. Back then, he delivered the sad, strumming musing on our current trying situation while sitting squarely in f...
Tame Impala Gives a Trippy Performance of “Is It True” on Colbert: Stream
On Monday evening, Tame Impala played a special quarantine rendition of “Is It True” for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The performance of The Slow Rush cut was suitably psychedelic, but it also revealed some troubling tendencies in the band. The singer was almost late, the guitarist kept walking off-stage, and did they really need to hide the bass player all the way at the back? Of course, that’s Kevin Parker in all three roles, using the magic of video editing to express his status as a one-man band. While other artists have relied on pre-taped bathroom recordings to give the illusion of a live performance, Parker acknowledged the artifice, utilizing it to create a simple but thrilling spectacle. Check out “Is It True” below. Earlier this month, Tame Impala participated i...
Laura Marling Performs Quarantine Version of “Held Down” on Colbert: Watch
Updated for the pandemic era, The A Late Show with Stephen Colbert now sees musical guests perform from their respective self-isolation spaces. Such remote, stripped-down settings may require some acts to make major adjustments to their arrangements, but for Laura Marling, whose intimate folk translates seamlessly. Broadcasting from her cozy London living room Friday night, Marling delicately offered up “Held Down”, a quiet yet still powerful single from her recently released Song for Our Daughter. The new album came out last month during the peak of the coronavirus, so its tracks feel especially tied to this time; watching the UK songwriter sing, “‘Cause we all want to be here now/ And we all want to be held down” in front of her fireplace certainly has a different meaning in co...
Christine and the Queens Sings “People, I’ve been sad” on Colbert: Watch
Christine and the Queens has spent the global lockdown perfecting the art of the intimate at-home performance. Last night, she showcased all she’s learned by singing “People, I’ve been sad” on Colbert. Perched on a windowsill in her Paris abode, Chris sang the track off the La Vita Nuova EP while golden-hour light cracked through the clouds on the other side of the glass. Even sitting still, her foot propped up against the frame, she proved to be one of the most emotive and graceful artists working in pop. Watch the replay below. If Christine and the Queens seems particularly comfortable with these sort of isolated performances, it’s likely because she’s been regularly delivering livestream performances for fans. Included in the streams have been covers of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”, T...
Sheryl Crow Covers George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness” on Colbert: Watch
Sheryl Crow appeared remotely on Tuesday night’s episode of Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform a cover of George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness”. In introducing the song, Crow called Harrison “one of my favorite artists of all time”. Watch her brilliant piano performance below. “Beware of Darkness” originally appeared on Harrison’s 1970 album, All Things Must Pass, and Crow recently released a recorded version of the song as part of her latest album, 2019’s Threads. She spoke about Threads, collaborations with Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, and more during a past appearance on Kyle Meredith With…, which you can also revisit below. [embedded content] [embedded content]
